A growing number of employers are decrying the lack of the soft skills (aka transferable skills or professional skills) in today’s college graduates, a reality that I have seen firsthand, both as a teacher and as an employer. Over the last 50-65 years, the trend in education has been to abandon once foundational subjects (e.g. grammar, philosophy) in favor of “more engaging” approaches and more vocational subjects. But those trends have had less than positive effects, resulting in decades of college graduates who are technically trained but not actually “educated”, and lacking in the skills that employers demand and do not want to be obligated to teach themselves.
Such skills are significant in human interaction and human thought. They help produce well-reasoned decisions, quality work, collegial teams, positive relationships, and a reliable workforce. Such skills, which should be developed well before a person leaves college, include the following:
o Communication, Listening & Awareness: the ability to express oneself clearly, concisely, and correctly, while also attending to what others say and being observant of non-verbal aspects of communication
o Self-Motivation: the ability to approach tasks independently through a self-sense of responsibility and punctuality
o Leadership: the ability to gather others into a cohesive team that feels motivated and collegial
o Responsibility/Work Ethic: the realization that personal and work tasks are to be done to the best of one’s ability, meeting timelines and expectations, treating tasks and people fairly and respectfully
o Teamwork/Collaboration: the ability and desire to work with others on shared goals and visions to achieve the best results
o Problem-Solving: the ability to address a problem with logic and reason in order to produce the fairest, most effective solution
o Decisiveness: the ability to make well-reasoned decisions with conviction
o Time Management: the ability to manage time well in order to multitask effectively and to meet all expectations regarding quality and timeliness of work
o Ability to Work under Pressure: the ability to work well and produce effective results under pressures of management and/or time
o Flexibility: the ability to change, revise, reassess, and reschedule, as needed
o Negotiation/Conflict Resolution: the ability to address conflicts non-confrontationally and to seek resolution respectfully, fairly, and professionally
If those skills were developed before college commencement, perhaps we would have a more educated, more articulate, more considerate population.